F&M Stories
Franklin & Marshall Celebrates Winter Graduates
Video by Andrew Bilindabagabo
Applause and emphatic cheers filled the Barshinger Center for Musical Arts Dec. 12 to celebrate 51 winter graduates of Franklin & Marshall College.
The ceremony recognizes students who complete academic requirements ahead of their cohort, or complete an extra term. Students who fulfill requirements by Jan. 31 are counted as members of the Class of 2024 and invited to participate in the Commencement ceremony May 11. A reception at the Roschel Performing Arts Center followed.
Prior to handing out diplomas, F&M President Barbara Altmann asked students: “What does it mean to be a Diplomat?”
“It means being able to move fluidly between cultures and among cultures. It means bridging between different languages, different fields of study, different fields of expertise, different cultures and different points of origin,” she said. “It means transforming disruption into opportunity.”
In a closing benediction, Director or Faith & Meaning Joseph Pritchett encouraged members of the graduating cohort to “let your passion and the world's needs, your kindness and your curiosity guide you along the way.”
“May the journey ahead be filled with continued discovery and growth,” he said.
View the winter graduation photo gallery.
Watch a recording of the ceremony.
Benediction by Joseph Pritchett, director or faith & meaning:
May you leave here today, first, with gratitude in your hearts.
May you be grateful for the people and experience that have formed you, grateful for the days behind you that have helped to make this day possible, grateful for all that today represents and grateful for what you might receive in the days ahead.
I ask that you go from this place being ever mindful of how it has formed you.
May the journey ahead be filled with continued discovery and growth.
May you face challenges with resilience and embrace success with humility.
Let your passion and the world's needs, your kindness and your curiosity guide you along the way.
So now let us leave here in the spirit of love, gratitude, accomplishment and possibility.
Related Articles
May 18, 2026
Green Room Shakespeare Play Links Past and Present
Thespians of all stripes will delight in an upcoming Shakespeare performance taking place at Franklin & Marshall College’s historic Green Room Theatre. The production is directed by F&M’s very own Justin Hopkins ’07, writing center director and senior teaching professor of English.
May 11, 2026
The 2026 Williamson Medal Winner: Menelaos Raptis
This year, the Williamson Medal — the highest student award for character, leadership and scholarship presented each year at Franklin & Marshall’s Commencement for more than a century — was awarded to Menelaos Raptis.
May 11, 2026
‘Own That Achievement,’ NFL Pro Tells Class of 2026 Graduates
Members of the Class of 2026 completed their undergraduate journeys May 9 at Franklin & Marshall College’s 239th Commencement. “You navigated uncertainty, global disruption, and a world that refused to slow down,” said NFL great Troy Vincent, this year’s speaker.